1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to hand tools and, more particularly, to a hand tool used for multiple purposes such as driving nails into surfaces in locations where the nail is inaccessible to a conventional hammer as well as other purposes. Specifically, the invention relates to a device having a weighted driver and a number of attachments that can be used in various combinations and can be used to drive different-sized nails, punch center holes, and operate as a plumb bob.
2. Background Information
Nails are common fasteners utilized in diverse fashions in the construction of building structures and the manufacture of other articles. While fasteners such as screws, staples, adhesives, and the like are well suited to many applications, nails are particularly prevalent in construction and manufacturing capacities inasmuch as nails are inexpensive to produce and can be readily installed with relatively simple tools.
As is well understood in the art, nails are driven into surfaces by application of a compressive force to the head of the nail in the direction of the pointed tip. Such compressive force can be applied to the nail with a conventional hammer. Alternatively, the compressive force can be provided by compressed gases that drive a bolt against the nail head. The compressed gases can be produced either by a compressed air source or an explosive charge, both of which are well-known in the art. Still alternatively, the compressive force can be created by an electric solenoid that magnetically drives a bolt against the nail head, as is likewise known in the art. Each of the aforementioned methods of driving nails are well understood in the relevant art and are suited to driving large numbers of nails with minimal effort. Such devices are not, however, without limitations.
In the construction of building structures, nails must often be driven into corners between adjacent walls and between a wall and the floor or the ceiling. The application of nails in such areas can be difficult inasmuch as conventional hammers and power nailers are too large to gain access to these areas.
For instance, a conventional sixteen ounce claw hammer, as is generally used in the building industry, has a driving head approximately one inch in diameter. Such hammers are difficult to use in accurately tight areas. The use of conventional hammers in tight areas can result in the hammer accidentally hitting the walls, floors, or ceilings, resulting in damage to these structures.
Power nailers have had only limited success in such tight applications because power nailers are rather bulky mechanical devices that are not adapted to be used in tight areas. While power nailers utilizing explosive charges may sometimes be used in tight areas, their utility is limited to the specific application for which the particular explosive charges employed therein are suited. The need thus exists for an inexpensive device that can drive a variety of nails into tight areas such as corners.
A number of devices have attempted to overcome the problems associated with driving nails into such tight areas. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,040 to Denin discloses a weighted rod telescopingly disposed within a hollow cylinder. The weighted rod is used to apply a compressive force to the nail head for driving the nail into a surface. While the invention disclosed in Denin is effective for driving nails of a particular size, Denin does not disclose a device that can drive nails of various sizes.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,021 to Williams discloses a weighted rod telescopingly disposed within a hollow cylinder. Again, the weighted rod is used to apply a compressive force to the head of a nail for driving the nail into a surface. While this invention is useful for driving nails of a specific size into a surface, the invention cannot be used to drive nails of a variety of sizes into tight areas.
Another concern with the design of a multi-purpose tool is the weight of the tool and the overall weight of the tools carried by a workman. A multi-purpose tool suited to drive only a single, or a very few number of nail sizes is of limited value to the workman inasmuch as several such tools suited to drive different size nails would be required to be carried by the workman. Each tool carried by a construction worker adds weight to the worker's workbelt. The weight of the tools requires additional effort to be expended by the workman in moving about the work site, and additionally results in enhanced instability while working on ladders, scaffoldings, and the like. It is thus desired for tools to be versatile and perform as many functions as possible, thereby reducing the overall number of tools in the workbelt and the weight of the workbelt.
A versatile tool for driving nails into tight places would preferably include a weighted driver carrying an elongated rod that is slidingly disposed within a hollow cylinder and adapted to drive a nail disposed within the cylinder. The tool would desirably have rods of different sizes having correspondingly sized cylinders for driving different sized nails. The tool would also desirably have a number of attachments that can be used in various configurations to permit the tool to operate in diverse capacities such as a plumb bob or a center punch. It is thus desired to provide a tool that can be inexpensively produced and that is capable of driving a variety of sizes of nails into tight areas such as inside corners and that is capable of performing other functions.